NEW HAVEN, CT — A fire that broke out just after midnight Monday, Nov. 2, on Maltby Street in the Fair Haven neighborhood displaced 15 people and injured a firefighter, FOX61 reported. Fire Chief Dan Coughlin said the first crews were sent to Maltby Place rather than Maltby Street, a mistake that cost two minutes.
Coughlin told FOX61 that investigators are working out whether the wrong address came from a dispatch error or from the person who called it in.
Two Neighboring Homes Also Burned
Firefighters were called to 43 Maltby Street at about 12:04 a.m. and found the second and third floors burning heavily, Coughlin said, according to NBC Connecticut. The flames reached the two houses next door, at 39 and 37 Maltby Street, FOX61 reported, and live power lines that had come down near the houses made the work harder. Everyone inside got out safely.
The building at 41 and 43 Maltby Street is considered a total loss, according to FOX61. The homes at 39 and 37 were badly damaged but may be saved, and a home at 45 and 47 Maltby Street had damaged siding but can still be lived in.
Battalion Chief Patrick Psarras told WTNH early Monday that one person was taken to the hospital with injuries that did not appear serious and that the firefighter had minor injuries. NBC Connecticut reported that no word on how badly the firefighter was hurt was immediately available. In that first report, Psarras said four families were displaced, two from each of two homes.
At about 3 a.m., crews were still spraying water on hot spots, and United Illuminating said overnight outages affected about 23 customers nearby, WFSB reported.